Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Anthony Cox was born October 24, 1954 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He matriculated through the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire studying and honing his craft of playing bass. After graduating from college he spent time in New York before returning to the Twin Cities.
Cox plays mainly in the post-bop, avant-garde and traditional styles, though versatile enough to work in any style effectively. His bass sound is full of beauty and warmth and his ability to accompany and still add very creative ideas into whatever music he is playing is remarkable.
Equally proficient on the upright acoustic bass, electric guitar and the Spanish style acoustic bass guitar, Anthony is also an adept composer open to all kinds of music from around the world and can be heard as a leader or as a sideman on over a hundred recording sessions with such artists as Geri Allen, Dewey Redman, John Scofield, Andrew Cyrille, Billy Higgins, Uri Caine, Gary Thomas Marty Ehrlich, Steve Lacy, Joe Lovano and Jack Walrath, among numerous others.
Bassist Anthony Cox currently resides and performs in his hometown and is attracting a young audience with his full, warm sound and creative ideas.
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Esperanza Spalding was born October 18, 1984 in Portland, Oregon. Raised in a single parent household she was greatly influenced by her mother who was a singer, though she attributes cellist Yo-Yo Ma as her inspiration to make music her life. By the time Spalding was five, she had taught herself to play the violin and was playing with the Chamber Music Society of Oregon, staying with them until fifteen and left as concertmaster.
While homeschooled through elementary years Esperanza gleaned lessons from her mother’s guitar instructor when she was eight and would return home and play what she learned. She played oboe and clarinet before discovering the bass at 14 while attending The Northwest Academy. Bored with the ease of high school when she was 15 or 16 years old, Spalding dropped out and started writing lyrics for music for the local indie rock/pop group Noise for Pretend, touching on any topic that came to mind.
Spalding had begun performing live in Portland with her first gig at 15 in a blues club, when she could play only one line on bass and was soon learning from seasoned professionals during the band’s rehearsals. She went on to get her GED, enroll in Portland State University, then left with full scholarship to attend Berklee College of Music.
Almost immediately after graduation Esperanza was hired by her alma mater at age 20, becoming one of the youngest instructors in the institution’s history. In 2006 she released her debut album “Junjo” followed by her sophomore project “Esperanza” in which she sings in English, Spanish and Portuguese. These two projects were followed up with “Chamber Music Society” and her fourth album “Radio Music Society”.
She was personally chosen by President Obama to perform at the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize ceremonies and concert, she has won a Grammy for Best New Artist in 2011, and Jazz Artist of the Year at the Boston Music Awards. She has collaborated with Tineke Postma, Nicholas Payton and Terri Lyne Carrington among others, performed at the 84th Academy Awards and has donated a portion of her 2012 tour proceeds from merchandise sales to the non-profit organization “Free The Slaves” that combats worldwide human trafficking.
In 2024 she recorded her 10th album Milton + esperanza with Milton Nascimento, been nominated fourteen times, won nine including five Grammy awards, and has received an honorary Doctorate of music from Berklee. Bassists and vocalist Esperanza Spalding continues to compose, record, perform and tour.
CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE BIG BAND
Over the past three decades, 11-time Grammy Award winner Christian McBride has fronted ensembles that span and synthesize straight-ahead and experimental jazz, funk, soul, Latin, hip-hop and rhythm and blues. His celebrated groups include Inside Straight, Christian McBride Big Band, Ursa Major, Christian McBride’s New Jawn, The Christian McBride Trio and A Christian McBride Situation.
Several of those paths converged on Without Further Ado, Vol. 1, the Christian McBride Big Band’s 2025 album, which won the Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble. For the first time, the 17-piece band shared the spotlight with a host of guest vocalists, including Sting, Samara Joy, Dianne Reeves, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Jeffrey Osborne and Antoinette Henry. The album includes covers of songs by The Police, Cole Porter, Carole King and others.
The bass-playing McBride and his band are likely to perform music from that recording and the group’s previous three albums, which feature jazz standards and McBride originals, at this larger-than-life concert.
Tickets: $58.50 – $152.10 | fees included
More Posts: adventure,bandleader,bass,genius,instrumental,jazz,music,preserving,travel
Daily Dose Of Jazz…
Matthew Parrish was born on October 14, 1969 in Fresno, California. Traveling with his parents most of his formative years, the bassist developed a wide appreciation for culture and arts and his family finally settled in New Jersey for his high school years. This led to his tenure at Rutgers Mason Gross School of the Arts. From there he moved to Philadelphia where his music studies really began at Ortliebs Jazz Haus.
At Ortliebs, Parrish played with Mickey Roker and Shirley Scott, backing everyone from Cecil Payne, Johnny Coles and Danny Turner to Sylvia Simms. He was soon partnered with Al Grey and while touring hit with Clark Terry, Marian McPartland, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Lou Donaldson, Joe Cohn, Savion Glover, Bill Charlap and many others.
Considering himself an East Coast player his list of accolades is more than sufficient to fall in the lineage of great Philly players. He has toured all over the world and his beautiful, warm and complex sound has earned him an impressive reputation in the music community. He has toured with Greg Osby, Stefon Harris and Regina Carter among others and continues to tour with the Dave Leonhardt group, Houston Person as well as the Vana Gierig Trio with Paquito D’Rivera. Bassist Matthew Parrish also continues to perfect his arrangements and compositions – a true passion for the music.
More Posts: bass
TED HOWE TRIO
Ted’s natural persistence and relentless fascination of developing his craft dominated his life. He soon became not only a student at Berklee, but a professor of piano arranging, theory and improvisation — all before reaching the age of 24. He joined the faculty of Georgia State University where he assisted in developing its first jazz education program.
Ted has produced “An Evening Of Duke Ellington With Ted Howe & The Ruth Mitchell Dance Theatre”, a full fledged ballet featuring 21 dancers, choreographed by members of the Alvin Ailey Dance Company. The ballet music was entirely Ted’s arrangements of Duke’s music set to dance. Premiering in Atlanta to glowing reviews, the ballet was performed to sold out houses.
As a Summit Records artist he has released three albums and has performed with a long list of sixty-nine musicians and vocalists that included Henry Mancini, Diahann Carroll, Russell Malone, Lainie Kazan, Morgana King, Tiger Okoshi, Carol Channing, Rene Marie, Herb Pomeroy, Ed Thigpen, Billy Daniels, Mel Torme and more.
The Band:
Ted Howe: Piano
Neal Starkey: Bass
Jerry “Guru” Fields: Drums
Cover: $30.00
More Posts: adventure,bandleader,bass,club,drums,genius,instrumental,jazz,piano,preserving,travel